§ 76. Sir Irving Alberyasked the Secretary for Mines whether he is aware that demurrage charges up to 4s. per ton have been incurred in the Gravesend district on sea borne coal, and that in one case, when the charter party stipulated 60 hours for all purposes, one colliery took 58 hours to load, leaving the importer two hours to discharge; and will he take steps, in conjunction with the Minister of Shipping or the colliery owners, to remedy this state of affairs?
§ Mr. GrenfellIf the hon. Member will be good enough to give me full particulars of the case to which he refers, I will look into it. The question of demurrage on coastwise coal boats is already under discussion between my Department and the Ministry of Shipping.
§ Sir I. AlberyWill the Minister take into consideration the difficulties that arise from the black-out and the limited hours?
§ Mr. GrenfellThey must necessarily be considered.